They can't buy groceries with flags or pay the rent with vengeful slogans
February 23, 2002, thepeoplesvoice.org

Posted by the EDITOR

The GOP seized the September 11, terrorist attack to execute their own attack on the distracted American people, cutting back on an already devastated federal social services sector, and reverting to Reagan era deficit spending.

Bush's handlers, still angry over the WTO, and presidential election protests, used the terrorist attacks as an excuse to increase the repression of dissent and protest. Once constitutionally protected forms of free speech and the only meaningful way the people had of making their voices heard, but no more. Our new corporate oligarchy is quickly eliminating the freedoms so many Americans fought and died for. Bush also pushed for a huge increase of our already Goliath military budget, increasing the power of the US and funding satellites of the national security state.

Shamelessly, after the terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial (September 19), calling on Bush to quickly take advantage of the "unique political climate" to "assert his leadership not just on security and foreign policy but in all areas." The editorial advised the Bush administration to; immediately demand more tax cuts for the richest 1% of society, expand oil drilling in the Alaskan wildlife refuges, grant fast-track authority for trade negotiations, and privatize social security.

As numerous conservative corporate cronies eagerly spoke of putting the country on a permanent war footing, Bush proudly declared, "the first war of the twenty-first century", against an unseen enemy, to last for an indefinite period of time. The US Congress of political wimps has granted Bush the power to initiate military action against any nation, organization, or individual he chooses, without the necessity of evidence to justify the attack. This unlimited mandate of arbitrary power violates international law, the UN charter, the US Constitution, and the War Powers Act. Our President select has been turned into an absolute ruler with the power of life-and-death over the nations and peoples of the earth. Of course, Bush's elevation to judge jury and executioner of the planet has been greeted with less than enthusiasm from the other nations.

Proudly America bombs the already pulverized and impoverished country of Afghanistan killing more innocents, leaving Osama bin Laden and the US funded Taliban relatively unharmed. The world looks on in shock, as the White House declares that they may bomb other countries also, if they want to. With chilling foreboding Bush announces that "the war will continue for many years". Before the American people can recover from the shock of the terrible event, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz urges that US armed forces be allowed to engage in domestic law enforcement. A function denied the military since 1878, when Americans began to fear the emergence of a police state.

Although critical thinking in America has always been compatible with patriotism, Democratic legislators are afraid to question or resist the White House because of the McCarthy like atmosphere created by the GOP. They are putting up little resistance on the issues of military spending and the abolition of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Opposition to the missile defense shield debacle seems to have evaporated completely also. The White House says it needs to develop the missile defense shield and move forward with militarizing space. The Senate has capitulated, agreeing to spend another $8.3 billion of the American peoples Social Security retirement funds on the Mislead Shield. In a bipartisan charade Congress marches in lockstep behind Bush's proposal to give the military industrial complex $328.9 billion by 2002, a $38.2 billion spending increase over the enacted 2001 budget. Big funding increases have also been promised to the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a host of other enforcement units of the burgeoning police state.

Although Americas defense budget is the largest on earth, it was ineffective against a determined band of kamikaze hijackers armed with box cutters. Most of the steps being taken to fight terrorism do little to increase the security of the American people, and are only public relations stunts to demonstrate that the government seemingly has things under control. It looks good to deploy aircraft carriers off the coast of New York to guard the city. National guardsmen dressed in combat fatigues and armed with automatic weapons are very impressive when patrolling the airports. The prohibition of sidewalk baggage check-ins and electronic tickets has definitely led to more inconvenience, but increased security is a question.

The biggest public relations snafu of all is the bombing of the rubble, euphemistically termed as 'targets', and the further brutalizing of the impoverished population of Afghanistan. Now all Americans should feel reassured by the images we have been allowed to see of US air power hitting indistinct targets in a rocky wasteland. The Taliban offered to hand Bin Laden over to a third country to stand trial, but the White House rejected this idea, not wanting to miss the opportunity to hide dirty dealings behind the smokescreen of war. America would prove her might and establish a respected military presence in the Middle East by crushing tiny war torn Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries on earth.

It's difficult to believe that America truly wants to stop terrorism when over the past 35 years US leaders have been the single greatest purveyors of terrorist acts throughout the world. The US government or their CIA trained mercenary forces have used terror bombing campaigns against unarmed civilian populations in many countries. America has participated in destroying churches, hospitals, schools, houses, hotels, farms, and factories, and other nonmilitary targets. We have killed millions in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Congo, East Timor, Panama, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Mozambique, Somalia, Angola, Yugoslavia, Iraq, and numerous other countries. We have caused death and destruction to millions of innocents like the Palestinian people, leaving an entire generation without mothers and fathers, bent on revenge against us for the actions of our political leaders.

In dozens of countries with democratic movements which threatened the power of corporations to exploit the people, US leaders used death squad terrorism to successfully eliminate social and democratic reform. The corporate media will never reveal this to the American people, instead we are continually subjected to bush's simplistic SoundBits as he and his handlers parade themselves before us as the champions of peace and justice.

In reality the corporate stooges in the White House have not the slightest idea about how they are going to save us from the next terrorist assault. Their actions prove that they are more interested in taking advantage of terrorist attacks than in preventing them. They have no intention of making the kind of policy changes that would deminish the hatred that billions of people on the earth feel toward the United States. Our so called 'leaders' are obediently handing the world over to the transnational corporate giants, and they certainly have no intention of altering the course toward unilateral global corporate domination.

Several bills pending in Congress are designed to expand the definition of terrorism to include all but the most muted forms of protest. S 1510, treats terrorism as any action that might potentially put another person at risk. The bill gives the Feds power to seize the assets of any organization or individual deemed to be aiding or abetting terrorist activity, and it can be applied retroactively without a statue of limitations. Other bills greatly expand the authority of law enforcement officials allowing them to conduct secret searches of peoples homes without their knowledge, use wiretaps, detain immigrants, subpoena email and Internet records, and infiltrate protest organizations. In keeping with the agenda of the radical Right, the war against terrorism has become a cover for a second war against our constitutional rights and all public services and programs that benefit the people. With every passing day America becomes more of a fascist state than a democracy, as the radical right imposes a cruel corporate 'survival of the fittest' system on the people.

One of the White House's earliest steps to protect the country from terrorist violence was to cut from the proposed federal budget the $1 billion set aside to assist children who are victims of domestic abuse or abandonment. The hypocritical White House using war as an excuse to also abandon America's children claimed the country could not afford to fight a war and help children too. However, Congress passed a $40 billion supplemental, including $20 billion for recovery efforts, to help clean up and repair New York's filthy rich financial district. The money is to be taken out of the peoples social security trust fund.

Bush was then instructed to ram an emergency package for the airlines down our throats. $5 billion in direct cash and $10 billion in loan guarantees, with the promise of billions more. Again, to come out of our Social Security trust fund. The airlines were already beginning to see a big drop in business due to their excessive price gouging well before the September attacks. This Airline bailout has little to do with fighting terrorism and more to do with corporate America shamelessly seizing this tragedy as an opportunity to fleece the American people. 80,000 airline employees where laid off only days after the government guaranteed the $15 billion to the airline industry. Ticket agents, flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, and ramp workers. All will be out of work while the airline billionaires and shareholders reap windfall profits. The patriotism of the rich does not extend to giving their employees a helping hand, even though their employees gave them their social security retirement benefits.

The post-September 11 anti-terrorism madness is serving as the perfect excuse to silence all opposition to drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The media told all Americans that our nation needs oil to maintain its strength and security. However, continued dependence on oil will eventually be a detriment to America. Honda has a car that runs on hydrogen and oxygen derived from rainwater, separated with solar power. It creates zero pollution and has greater power and acceleration. Tragically, against the fossil fuel forces that grip our great nation, the environment will be exploited and destroyed without regard for the future.

US trade representative, Republicrat and constitutional illiterate, Zoellick used 'terrorism hype' in the White House's campaign to surrender our democratic sovereignty to corporate dominated international trade councils. Zoellick charged that opposition to 'fast track' and 'globalization' was the same as supporting the terrorists. Like a gang of fascist jingoist schoolboys the House Republican leaders joined in, claiming that trade legislation was needed to solidify the global coalition and fight terrorism, blatantly wrapping the flag around ther corporate interests.

Free trade agreements threaten our democratic sovereignty because they allow the control of our laws and society by those outside our borders who are not citizens of our country. Under the trade agreement All public programs and services that regulate or infringe in any way upon corporations are internationally null and void as declared by the corporate controlled oligarchic trade council puppets. Corporations can now dictate to the governments of the world what public programs and regulations are acceptable or unacceptable. The radical right would have us believe that giving private non-elected corporate-dominated trade councils the power to violate our sovereignty and change our laws and our Constitution will help in the war against terrorism.

The giveaway program to the airline industry is only the beginning of the White House feeding  frenzy. Bush is now being instructed to endorse a $120 billion tax cut, which like the previous tax reduction, gives pocket change to 99% of the people and obscene sums of money to the wealthest 1%. The money for the war, defense, internal security, rebuilding lower Manhattan, propping up the airlines, more tax cuts for the rich, and rebuilding our once thriving Clinton economy is coming from the Social Security retirement fund, pushing it closer to collapse and privatization.

The deficit is being increased by successive tax cuts for the rich and corporations. The government purposely borrows from the private banking system instead of taxing it. Handing hundreds of billions to the military industrial complex is also driving the deficit up. In twelve years, Reagan and Bush managed to give $3.7 trillion to the military industrial complex. In eight years, Bill Clinton also spent over $2 trillion on the military. The payments on the national debt are $350 billion a year, representing a colossal upward trend in the redistribution of wealth from working taxpayers to the tiny super rich creditor banking class.

For the first time since Reagan, Clinton's last two budgets actually trimmed the yearly deficit and produced a surplus. Cynically the first Bush budget also promised to produce a surplus, almost all of it from Social Security taxes. As loyal representatives of the New World Order, both boy George, and his daddy, prefer the upward redistribution of income produced by a large deficit. The billionaire banker creditor class, and the financial institutions, want this nation and the nations of the world to be in debt to them.

The radical right wing enemies of Social Security have long argued that the fund will eventually become insolvent and must therefore be privatized. Clandestine organizations like the Cato Institute serveing only the interests of Securities and Investment firms, say that "Social Security is in a financial crisis and will begin running a deficit in 15 years". They want to frighten and confuse Americans into letting Wall Street take over the role of our trustworthy Social Security system. In reality, the alleged crisis has been manufactured by those who would reap gigantic profits if they gain control of the American peoples Social Security retirement system. By eliminating Social Security, either through privatization or deficit spending or both, Bush achieves a key goal of the radical right.

A majority of misguided Americans support this military assault on the impoverished people of Afghanistan believing that another act of brutality will control terrorism and promote security in the US. Taking an approach that would utilize international law and diplomacy will not be pursued by the White House nor promoted by the corporate controlled media. According to a recent Gallup poll, 30 percent of Americans support a diplomatic option, compared to 54 percent who support military actions, with 16 percent undecided. It is possible that a majority of Americans would support the use of international law if it had ever been discussed and explained to them seriously by the media. The corporate media chooses to ignore the millions of people in the US who are against a protracted war and who don't want to surrender their individual rights, liberties, public services, and retirement funds. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to oppose this war and the radical corporate agenda. The media driven war fever that grips the United States today will grow stale when people find they can't buy groceries with flags or pay the rent with vengeful slogans.

As of October 2001, a republican Supreme Court appointed president Bush had a 90 percent approval rating based on a polling of less than 1% of the people. Another President Bush, George the first, early in 1991 had an approval rating of 93 percent, Yet within the year, he was resoundingly defeated for reelection by a governor from Arkansas. Those who believe in democracy must be undeterred in their efforts to educate, organize, and agitate. Only in this way can we remain free.

Copyright © 2002 thepeoplesvoice.org, subject to FAIR USE © 2002 thepeoplesvoice.org, subject to FAIR USE